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What Does Coffee Do To Your Brain And Body?
Are you wondering what does black coffee do for your body and brain? Find out here.
Published November 28, 2021
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Joachim Estal
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
One of the main reasons why people love drinking coffee is caffeine. It wakes our nerves and makes us feel more energized whenever we take a cup of joe. But coffee isn’t just about being able to stay awake during long meetings or boring conversations. Coffee also has other effects on the body and brain, and in this article, we will be talking all about that!
What Does Coffee Do To Your Brain?
Coffee makes you smarter.
We are all aware that coffee contains caffeine–a stimulant that helps increase our energy levels. As you take this compound, it travels around your bloodstream and into the brain. And in the brain, it mimics adenosine, a compound that makes a person tired and sleepy.
The brain will then mistake caffeine for adenosine and will increase the production of dopamine and norepinephrine. This will cause our neurons to fire up, enhancing our brain functions such as memory, alertness, mood, and other general mental functions.
Coffee makes you happier.
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders today, and coffee positively impacts victims of the problem. Caffeine’s anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and microbiome-promoting properties block the brain receptors from binding with adenosine compounds that may cause depressive moods and fatigue.
Coffee protects from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia worldwide and affects people over 65 years old. This is caused by the abnormal build-up of proteins in and around the brain.
Parkinson’s disease, on the other hand, is caused by the loss of nerve cells in the brain–substantia nigra. These nerve cells produce a chemical called dopamine which plays an essential role in the brain’s reward system associated with memory, learning, and motor functions.
These two neurodegenerative conditions have no cure, which is why prevention should be an important focus. Coffee helps lower the risk of getting these diseases. In fact, it reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 65% and Parkinson’s by up to 60%.
Coffee helps prevent strokes.
Research shows that regular coffee drinkers are 22 to 30 percent less likely to develop blood clots and die from strokes. Coffee contains plenty of antioxidants that help reduce inflammation, improve blood flow and lower the risk for these conditions to happen.
What Does Coffee Do To Your Body?
Coffee minimizes the risk of Diabetes.
High blood sugar levels cause significant health problems like type 2 Diabetes. However, studies show that coffee drinkers have somehow lowered the risk of getting the disease. This is because coffee has lots of antioxidants that reduce inflammation in your system, triggering Diabetes.
Coffee lowers the risks of heart failure.
Coffee is usually associated with high blood pressure and palpitations. However, drinking one or two cups a day can reduce the risk of long-term heart failure. In fact, it can lower it by 5-12 percent, according to recent findings. Just make sure you drink moderately because caffeine is a stimulant after all and may cause deleterious problems if too much is consumed.
Coffee protects your liver.
Hepatitis, fatty liver, and many other diseases may lead to cirrhosis, wherein scar tissue damages and replaces the liver in your body. Interestingly, drinking coffee can help protect your liver organ from the said disease and lower the risk by up to 80%.
Coffee can help burn body fat.
What does coffee do in the body that helps you burn fat? Well, caffeine boosts a body’s metabolism, increases its energy, and promotes weight loss at the same time. In fact, this compound can be found in many fat-burning supplements on the market. Drinking coffee can help burn fat by 10 percent on obese individuals and up to 29 percent on leaner ones.
In addition, coffee also helps improve physical performance. As caffeine stimulates the nervous system, it signals cells to break down body fat. This increases your adrenaline and prepares you for intense physical activity. With this, it’s a good idea to drink a cup of coffee before heading to the gym to work out.
Coffee prevents colon cancer.
Liver and colon cancer rank third and fourth, respectively, as the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. Studies show that coffee drinkers lower their risk of liver cancer by 40% and colon cancer by 15%.
Coffee contains lots of vitamins and minerals.
Nutrients such as riboflavin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), niacin (vitamin B3), manganese, potassium, and magnesium are present in a single cup of coffee. It also contains 95% of water and helps contribute to one’s daily fluid balance.
What Does Coffee Do For The Body? : Some Drawbacks
While there are pros on what coffee does to your body and brain, there are also some underlying negative effects especially if your caffeine consumption is pretty high. Here are some below.
Coffee Can Cause Nervousness, Restlessness, And Anxiety
While coffee helps make your brain alert, too much coffee can lead to palpitations, jitteriness, anxiety, and even panic attacks. Because caffeine is known to stimulate your body’s response, it may make existing anxiety conditions worse. If caffeine somehow overstimulates your brain and body, you may want to lessen your caffeine intake–better yet, have some decaf!
Coffee May Disrupt Sleep Patterns
Since caffeine is known to contribute to a drinker’s wakefulness, consuming a cup of coffee at night may not be a good idea. It may disrupt usual sleeping patterns and cause insomnia. In addition, too much caffeine may be linked to sleep-disordered breathing in Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
Coffee May Increase Blood Pressure
Drinking too much coffee can also cause diuretic effects and high blood pressure, especially if you’re taking it on a regular basis. Until now, no clear explanation is present as to what causes the spike, but the body’s response to caffeine varies from one person to another.
Coffee Is Addictive
Just like other known addictive substances, coffee may become addictive too. It produces. Because of the certain changes caffeine causes inside the brain, one may get this kind of addiction. Additionally, coffee produces dopamine, the “feel-good” hormone, which may also encourage a drinker to repeat the behavior again.
Conclusion
As we’ve learned all about what coffee does to your body, a cup of will not only give you more energy and wakefulness but has a number of impressive health benefits as well. So don’t hesitate to pour a cup of coffee every morning.
However, the recommended daily caffeine intake is 400 mg or about four cups a day. And although that amount differs from one body to another, keep in mind that too much of something is a bad thing. So enjoy coffee (and everything else) in moderation!
About the author
Joachim Estal
8-year barista for a world-class coffee chain from the Philippines. Passionate writer and coffee champion. "Coffee has always been one of my biggest love interests in life. And I am here to share it with all of you through this platform."
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